The Röling Building

Welcome to the Röling Building

In August 2023 our Faculty moved from the Harmonie Building (Oude Kijk in 't Jatstraat 26) to the new Röling Building (Oude Boteringestraat 18). The new accommodation offers us the ideal opportunity to harmonize building, organization, research, and education. This is the ultimate opportunity to make our Faculty ready for the future. While we were fragmented across several locations, we now have a place with our own identity at a single location.

Named after Prof. Bert Röling

The new building was given the name 'Röling Building', named after Prof. Bert Röling. He was professor of criminal law, criminal procedure and criminology at our Faculty from 1949 until his death in 1985. He received a doctorate after studying law in Nijmegen, Marburg and Utrecht. He completed a thesis on 'Legislaton regarding so-called business and habitual criminals'. Röling was made lecturer in penal and penitentiary law in the University of Utrecht. The first milestone in Röling's career was the founding of the Institute of Criminology in Utrecht. The first of its kind in the Netherlands.

Röling was made a judge in the Tokyo during the war trials of 1946. Later on he became a member of the Dutch delegation to the United Nations, where he was involved in international disputes. In this function he became well-known for holding opinions which deviated from those of the majority.

In 1949 Röling was named professor of criminal law, criminal procedure and criminology in Groningen. He soon became interested in international law and war crimes. In 1957 his remit was extended to include international law.

In 1962 Röling founded the Institute of Polemology in Groningen for research into the causes of war and the requirements for peace. He stayed in this position where he was central to international debates about peace and security policy, both in politics and research, until his death in 1985.